2021 11 25 Mytilinaios PCB CNC Paper

Design and Construction of an Automated
Milling Machine for producing PCBs

M. Mytilinaios1, D. Triantafyllidis2+
1,2 International Hellenic University / Department of Industrial Engineering & Management
P.O. Box 141, 57 400 Sindos, Thessaloniki, Greece
+
Corresponding author: drdimitri@autom.teithe.gr
Abstract — The present paper presents the design and as well as the stability of the structure of the
construction of an automated milling machine suitable for machine.
engraving electronic circuits also known as “Printed  Type of end mill cutters: Depending on the
Circuits” on bakelite single sided copper boards (PCBs). material that is being processed, and the type
The topics that are included are the design considerations, of process, a specific end mill cutter must be
the assembly of the hardware and the setting up of the chosen for the desirable result. Some
machine. The required steps for producing an exemplary
applications require more than one type of
PCB are also presented.
cutters and after each running process the
cutters have to be switched.
I. INTRODUCTION
 Power of spindle: The max torque and RPMs
Computer Numerical Control also known as CNC are the most important parameters in a spindle
machines are machines that can process a piece of raw because they determine the capabilities of the
material (metal, wood, plastic acrylic, etc.) into a spindle. It is very helpful to have a strong
component of another machine or a complete product as machine but sometimes the excessive force
it is. This is accomplished with a spindle that rotates in a and speed might ruin the material, so it is
specific number of RPMs that are chosen by the user. A crucial to be aware of the process details of
specific end mill cutter must be installed depending on each material.
the material and the spindle will move in a 3-axis system  Power of stepper motors: The higher the
(X, Y, Z) accurately with stepper motors. By rotating and current that flows to the motor, the higher the
passing through the material, it carves it, giving it the torque and precision it possesses. Therefore,
desired geometry. Creating a 3D model of the machine is for heavy loads bigger stepper motors are
the first step, as well as the calculation and the selection preferred. In the present project a medium size
of the stepper motors and the motherboard with the stepper motor will ensure stability, accuracy
and low temperatures during the working
microprocessor. In order to prevent any damage to the
process.
machine, preventive measures such as terminal switches
must be added to ensure the safety of the machine and the  Type of motherboard and drivers: To obtain
machinist. After installing the hardware components in a the control and the proper movement of the 3-
axis system the motherboard must be initially
correct electrical and mechanical manner, the user must programmed. For the present project the
program and initialize the motherboard. The next step is motors have a pre-installed driver board on
the creation of a file which contains all the information them. Except for the movement control these
for the CNC procedure. Lastly, the proper placement of boards are designed to give feedback in a
the PCB on the workspace of the CNC is crucial in order closed loop to the motherboard in order to
to secure a stable and uniform result. The present paper correct any lost steps which would translate
presents the design criteria, the assembly, and the initial into wrong movement.
parameters of the machine, as well as the PCB design  Software: Lastly, in order to translate a 3D
stages and an example of a produced PCB. model of a PCB into machine movements, a
file must be created that contains all the
II. DESIGN CRITERIA information about the PCB in order for the
The main factors that must be taken into consideration machine to execute the exact procedure steps.
are firstly the material that will be processed and the size
of the workspace in order to build the machine. In this To simplify the design criteria process a readily
aspect, the following must be decided: available CNC kit from BigTreeTech [1], including the
required motherboard, stepper motors, and closed loop
 Size of mechanical parts: By calculating these, drivers has been selected, thus avoiding possible
the size of the clear workspace can be decided incompatibilities.
1
III. ASSEMBLY from the user. Candle is additionally used to probe the
height of the PCB at various points in order to create a
The assembly of the mechanical parts took place very
height map, which is used to adjust for required
carefully, with high precision, in order to ensure a smooth corrections of the cutting depth.
operation of the machine with high accuracy. The parts
were customized and cut for a workspace that can fit a
large range of sizes of PCBs. Along with the CNC
machine, a control box has been designed and installed
for a user friendly interface.
A photo of the assembly follows in Fig. 1.
Figure 2. PCB Design in Altium (Cutout, Engrave, Drill).
With the exception of Altium, all other special software

required for this project was freely available, under
various license agreements, requirements or limitations.
VI. PRODUCTION PROCESS & RESULTS
For the process to start, the blank PCB is firmly hold in
position with the help of acrylic plates. This is to prevent
the collision of the end mill with the workspace and to
provide adequate toughness and stiffness to avoid bending
Figure 1: Assembly of mechanical and electric parts of the PCB. Double sided tape is added to the back of the
PCB to ensure zero movement. As soon as the process
of the CNC machine. begins the user must wear safety glasses and maintain a
respectful distance from the machine, placing the hand on
IV. INITIAL PARAMETERS the emergency stop button in case of misjudged
The parameters that are required for the proper function movement of the spindle. An example of the resulting
of the machine have to be programmed into the machine. product follows in Fig.3
The programming is being done via serial port. The
firmware that was used for the present project is called
GRBL [2, 3]. It contains numerous variables which
determine parameters such as the speed of movement, the
acceleration, the deceleration, the coordinates of starting,
stopping, and parking of the spindle, etc. Additionally, a
software responsible for the safety of the machine and
the user, called Termite [4] has been used. Termite
Figure 3. Resulting product.
monitors the installed terminal switches, causing an
immediate shut down when required, preventing major
accidents. VII. CONCLUSIONS AND FUTURE WORK
V. PCB DESIGN STEPS Despite the time-consuming process, the machine
There are several levels of information and steps that satisfies the user with its end results. The cost to
are required to design and manufacture a PCB. The first manufacture the prototype CNC machine was about
step is to create a Gerber file, a type of file that contains 500 €, which may be considered quite high, but
information such as the size and the frame of the PCB, nevertheless it allows the user to create PCBs
the number and size of the holes, the geometry of the independently without having to outsource them, thus
product etc. A student version of the Altium software [5] avoiding minimum number of copies requirements as
has been used in order to describe all the aspects of the well as shipping times. Further improvements can be
PCB. Altium offers a 3D representation of the PCB as made such as implementing a larger spindle motor or
well as a search library with existing components from designing an aluminum motor base for minimizing
the electronic market all around the world. When the vibrations.
designing process concludes, Altium exports the 3D file REFERENCES
into a Gerber file.
[1] https://www.biqu.equipment/
The second step starts with the FlatCAM software [6],
[2] GRBL:https://diymachining.com/grbl-settings-101-a-how-to-
which accepts Gerber files, and modifies the geometrical guide/
information of the PCB into machine commands (G- [3] https://www.cnc.com/grbl-controller/
Code) including various processes which may need [4] Termite: https://www.compuphase.com/software_termite.htm
multiple passes, or tool changes. [5] Altium:http://valhalla.altium.com/Learning-
Guides/OG0101%20Gerber%20Output%20Options.pdf
The third step requires a software called Candle [7], a [6] FlatCAM: http://flatcam.org/
program that connects to the CNC machine via serial port [7] Candle: https://github.com/Denvi/Candle
and can accept G-Code commands or direct commands

2021 11 25 Mytilinaios PCB CNC Paper

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

2021 11 25 Mytilinaios PCB CNC Paper

Uploaded by

Document Information

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

2021 11 25 Mytilinaios PCB CNC Paper

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Design and Construction of an Automated

Milling Machine for producing PCBs

Figure 2. PCB Design in Altium (Cutout, Engrave, Drill).

With the exception of Altium, all other special software

You might also like